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Category Archives: Media

After tense negotiations, the voice cast agrees to a pay cut that will keep the show alive.

Fox has renewed its long-running animated comedy The Simpsons for two additional seasons. After tense negotiations regarding salary for the voice cast, Fox reached an agreement to their satisfaction, thus renewing the show for what would be it’s 24th and 25th season, a new record for a scripted series.

The elusive-yet-outspoken blogger has “crossed the line,” according to the publication.

The long-lasting feud between Nikki Finke’s Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter has reached a boiling point, with legal cease and desist letters being sent, and sent back. As I mentioned, the feud between Deadline and THR has been long-occuring, but after multiple articles being published on Deadline.com over the years targeting its competitor, THR seems to have had enough. In a cease-and-desist letter sent by Debevoise and Plimpton, the attorneys for Prometheus Global Media (owner of The Hollywood Reporter), the letter says that Finke has engaged in behavior that “crosses the line from her usual bad behavior to a cencerted and unlawful attempt to disrupt THR’s business.”

The letter doesn’t specifically point to any articles posted on Deadline, but it does say that Finke has been spreading false rumors around Hollywood and THR’s advertisers that the publication has been “experiencing financial problems” and that it will “cause it to make massive layoffs, end its print edition, and/or go out of business, or be sold by [its owner] Prometheus. None of this is true.” The letter also claims that Finke has been harassing THR staff by calling them and making “baseless complaints,” such as an incident when she emailed an employee, with the threat of “humiliating” him. They also claim that Finke’s animosity towards THR “intensifies as Academy Awards season draws closer.” The letter went on to show their claims that The Hollywood Reporter has been doing the opposite of Finke’s allegations. According to the Internet measuring service comScore, THR has generated close to three times the amount of unique visitors than that of Deadline (4.39 million vs. 1.52 million), and that it’s website has been growing 100% faster than Deadline. They also report that advertising revenue in its print edition is up 40% year-over-year and that 50% of the magazine are ad pages.

The story (of course,) doesn’t end there. Almost as quick as Finke received it, she fired back, saying “You can stick this letter up your asses” and that she is “preparing an article about The Hollywood Reporter” that she plans to publish “very soon.” She then points out several more claims (many of which are reiterated from past articles posted on her site), including staff layoffs and firings (that according to her have occurred all Summer), claiming false exclusives and not crediting Deadline, and that THR is and has been experiencing all kinds of financial problems. She also claims that THR and Prometheus staff (including Prometheus’ CEO, who has recently resigned) have slandered Finke on the pages of THR and in other interviews and conversations. She took another jab at THR in the last paragraph of her response, saying that “Comparing Deadline To THR in terms of editorial quality or traffic numbers is like comparing The Economist to The National Enquirer.” (Ouch!) Finke ended her response in her ever-classy style: “Now get the fuck out of my face.”

Whether Finke will publish her article on THR is still unknown, but seems unlikely after this response. THR has yet to respond, and hasn’t filed any official legal action. This story is fast-developing and as always, I’ll give you the latest on any developments.

This week, we have a good amount of TV shows that are premiering and worth mentioning, as well as a great publication that I’m obsessed about. Also, a celebrity that has people mesmerized and an event that is fast-approaching to teens nationwide. Okay, let’s get to the list!

1. Death Valley – Series Premiere

This show came out of the blue, first debuting it’s trailer during the season premiere of Jersey Shore, and I’ve been all over it ever since. The extremely gory-but-funny comedy has me locked in as a viewer (at least for the premiere) and you should also give it a try. But please—I’m begging you—don’t watch Ridiculousness.

2. The Hollywood Reporter

This incredible publication is the premier destination for Hollywood Insiders and follows the industry like no other. Don’t waste time: subscribe and visit their website! Now!

3. Awkward.

This show is so fantastic, it’s already the best show overall on MTV and is one of the best new shows of the Summer. If you haven’t seen it, you must!

4. Sarah Michelle Gellar

I don’t know why people love her so much (I’ve never seen Buffy in my life) but I’m prepared to love her too. Her appearance at Comic-Con had fans reeling and made them fall in love with her even more. She seems very sweet smart as well, telling from her interview with Entertainment Weekly, which is covered by Gellar, on newsstands now.

Back to School

Can all of us teens yell a very loud and long “Boo” simultaneously? Ugh. Let’s just get this year over with.

That’s a wrap! Come back next week where we will celebrate all the new topics and events coming in September, and A LOT will happen in September on the Most Wanted List! See you then!

Mathews has signed a development and talent deal at E! Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The deal includes development for a new talk show and locks in his presence as a personality for the cable network. He has been a regular on many E! Shows, including Chelsea Handler’s late-night show, Chelsea Lately and has co-hosted E!’s flagship award show, Live from the Red Carpet. The Mathews talk show will be made under Handler’s production company, Borderline Amazing.

Many people estimated big numbers for Jersey Shore’s premiere, and those people were overwhelmingly correct. According to preliminary numbers from Nielsen media research, the season 4 premiere of MTV’s Jersey Shore attracted 9.7 million viewers and a huge 4.6 rating among adults 18-49. Even though its likely to be adjusted in the final numbers, it should become the highest rated show of the week.

Story developing…

CORRECTION: Final viewership numbers were just released, and it was averaged down to 8.8 million viewers and a 4.3 rating among Adults 18-49.

It’s been 5 months since we’ve had a Jerzday (as Snooki has reworded my favorite “Jersey Shore Thursday” phrase,) and it’s been a rough Summer. But the whole world can stop crying now, because Jersey Shore is back!

This time, the cast hits uncharted territory: Italy! The country where many of them have never been but have talked a lot about in seaside is the home for the hit show’s latest season. How will they fare with the language barrier and cultural differences? How much harder (or easier) are the girls in Italy compared to the states? And where will they work this time? We might now get answers immediately since the show likes to roll out the characters in the premiere episode. One thing I’m confident about is that the show is likely to get big numbers in the premiere episode, and I’ll have those numbers as soon as they’re available tomorrow afternoon.

This week ends as one of Rupert Murdoch and son James’ worst, with the long-running newspaper/tabloid The News of the World shutting down after 168 years.

A series of scandals have plagued the already discredited tabloid, but a massive phone-hacking scandal (reportedly over 4000 mobile phones) seems to have been the breaking point for News Corporation, owner of NOW. News Corp. Deputy COO James Murdoch delivered the news to NOW staff alongside former editor Rebekah Brooks, whom staffers say is responsible for corruption at the troubled brand.

Brooks is a confidant for the Murdoch’s and is being heavily guarded and defended by them, and they are still defending her during this scandal. Here’s what James Murdoch said in an interview just yesterday with BBC Television: “She has a good standard of ethics and her leadership is the right thing for the company. It’s her leadership that has really got to grips with this whole period in the company’s history.” According to Sky News, she told employees “You may be angry with me, I understand, but I’m angry with the people who did this [hacking] and feel bitterly betrayed.”

Meanwhile, dozens of NOW staffers are out of jobs and Andy Coulson, former employee of British Prime Minister David Cameron, was just arrested on phone hacking and corruption charges. When asked about hiring Coulson, Cameron said “I decided to give him a second chance. The decision to hire him was mine and mine alone and I take full responsibility.” A public inquiry has begun on the company. The final edition of The News of the World will be released on Sunday.